Downsizing and Globalization In the USA and the UK Assignment

Downsizing and Globalization In the USA and the UK - Assignment Example The cost is the international rationalization process, which is currently wreaking havoc in the labor market, particularly in certain parts of Europe. The primary reason for the adoption of downsizing and globalization strategies by firms is to achieve cost-cutting and increase revenue by capturing the global market (Scholte, 2005:132). However, this results in serious implication for the economy of the country of origin, as more workers lose their jobs and plunge into poverty, which significantly reduces the standards of living. The cost is the international rationalization process, which is currently wreaking havoc in the labor market, particularly in certain parts of Europe. The primary reason for the adoption of downsizing and globalization strategies by firms is to achieve cost-cutting and increase revenue by capturing the global market (Scholte, 2005:132). However, this results in serious implication for the economy of the country of origin, as more workers lose their jobs and plunge into poverty, which significantly reduces the standards of living. Reasons for Downsizing In essence, downsizing refers to the planned elimination of jobs or positions. Many corporations and business have used, or are likely to use, the strategy to achieve different goals. In the United States, for instance, approximately 43 million jobs were slashed off between 1979 and 1995. Evidently, this is a significant portion of the workforce (Archibald, 2009:321). Companies adopt downsizing measures due to a number of factors that affect the organizational and work structure, including computerization, consolidations, globalization, and divestment. These factors create a new attitude towards employment, a new workforce, and over and above all, reduced job morale, and security. The prevalent increase in global business has led to more competition in the marketplace (Slaughter and Swagel, 1997). In addition, the increasing rate of technological advancement enables businesses to achieve higher productivity and run their global businesses smoothly.  Often, companies are unable to keep up with the enormous technological advancement introduced into the market every month. The subsequent shift from producing products to providing services often leads to reengineering and downsizing of many companies. Companies employ downsizing strategies in financial attempts to produce larger revenue margins. Holding other factors constant, the fewer the employees a company has, the more productive and efficient the workplace. Conventionally, the remaining workers feel obliged to become more efficient in quality and speed, as well as the significant reduction in the use of company resources (Archibald, 2009:325).

Consumer Behaviour Essay Example for Free

Consumer Behaviour Essay Problem recognition is defined as the perception of a difference between the ideal state of affairs and the actual situation (stream notes chapter 1 Schiffman et al. (2011). Needs recognition is the first stage of all consumer decision process. The problem recognition for buying a RADO watch is initially my want for being able to wear a watch. However I know I want a luxury watch of high value and class, this makes the purchase of a high involvement highly complex and an extensive problem solving decision as it is very expensive. I will be very motivated in the next step which is the search for information. Being of such a high priced purchase I want to find out as much information as I can, not just about the product but also the effect of wearing a RADO watch. Firstly I will do an internal search of information, this is a quick sweep over the mind on what I can recall about the product and is done as soon as a problem is recognised. With lower interest or motivated purchases this could be deemed enough and I would move onto the purchase. However, as this is a complex purchase I want to know more information, this is called an external information search. By including an external investigation I will better understand the risks involved with buying a RADO watch. Such as functional risk, will the product work as expected? Physical risk, is the watch safe? such as reactions to the materials it is made from. Financial risk, is it worth the price? will I gain enough satisfaction to warrant such an expensive item. Social risk, am I going to embarrass myself or not fit in? Physiological risk, what effect will wearing a RADO watch have on myself esteem, will I feel good? and lastly time risk, the amount of time and effort spent on the purchase decision, was it a waste? The amount of time spent on an external information search all depends on the value of the product to the consumer. In this case I would undergo a very detailed investigation where I invest a lot of time because of my student financial situation. When doing external research I am soon effected by marketers and exposure to outside stimulants. For example when doing my search I wanted to see where I could purchase a RADO watch from . When I visited the RADO website I was soon drawn in by the instant look of class and wealth which appeals to my personality and realize by purchasing a new RADO watch I would be fueling my ego and moving towards my ideal self image. I also satisfied my need for knowledge and information about the product, I learnt what they were made out of, what new technology they include and what celebrities and events endorse the products, which to me shows they are of a popular status and could create a positive image about myself. Therefore I will move on to the next stage of the decision model, evaluation of alternatives. By using the conjunctive decision rule I am able to set a degree of cut off standard. The Executive watch market is very competitive and includes other brands such as ROLEX, TISSO and MIDO. All of which offer a similar product but I believe a RADO watch provides a better experience. Its combined features such as having a reputation of being scratch free, sleek and an industry leader for design and new materials match its personal experience portraying a high social class, wealth, success and confidence. After all Andy Murray wears one. After being satisfied with my choice and research I then purchase the RADO watch from either the Christchurch or Auckland supplier. However Purchasing the product IS important it is not the final stage of the consumer decision model. After purchasing the product a consumer then evaluates the effect, while wearing my RADO watch I evaluate its effect, has it meet all my expectations. Consumers will try to reduce post purchase cognitive dissonance by seeking support that they made the right decision, either from peers, advertising or other customers. After purchasing my watch I felt it did meet all my expectations of class and image aswell as functionality however I was not happy from the price I paid. RADO watches are very expensive ranging from over $1000 for the cheapest. After investing so much money I feel that it is not worth the satisfaction or wellbeing I gained. Therefore I would take the final step in the model by divestment. I would claim back my money from the watch by reselling it. Divestment is the remarketing, reselling or disposal of the product or packaging after use. †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ My purchase of a Manual tooth brush is allot more simple and would be considered a habitual decision with low involvement as I would always choose the cheapest brush. The first stage, needs recognition would occur when my current tooth brush became worn out and I need a replacement. When undergoing an information search I would solely rely on an internal method and would feel satisfied that I know enough information about the product choices. The reason I have a low involvement outlook is because I see the product as low risk as there is no strong design difference or any features between the choices that effect social, financial, psychological, or time risk. they all seem indifferent apart from a slight price difference. This comes from a recollection of past experiences where I get the same satisfaction from any brand, The next step in the model, pre purchase evaluation of alternatives would solely happen at the single shop I went to when I am actually picking my product from the shelf. As a tooth brush is of low involvement and value to me I have no motivation to visit any other outlets and want to get the purchase done as fast and easily as possible. The next step is to purchase the item, which I will do by picking the cheapest one from the shelf, pay then leave the store to consume the product. When I consume the product I don’t have many standards that need to be meet. Therefore this brush easy for fills my requirements and I am satisfied. Being of a low involvement purchase the post purchase evaluation will be limited and not as extensive of such as the RADO watch. I will continue to re purchase this brand but only if it remains the cheapest, I have no brand loyalty and will switch to alternative brands if there are opportunities such as a sale. The final stage in the process is divestment. After use, both the product and its packaging will be disposed of as rubbish because it holds no further value for resale, unlike the watch which is still valuable because of its high price. cant try it on rado †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ The standard consumer decision process model by Engel, Blackwell and Miniard is very useful for marketers as it is a road map of consumers minds which takes a journey through the different steps of consumption, starting with problem recognition then information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchase, consumption, post consumption evaluation and lastly divestment.

Royal Mail To Change Its Business Plan And Strategies Business Essay

Royal Mail To Change Its Business Plan And Strategies Business Essay Royal Mail HRM Strategies an Overview (2005-2010) Abstract: The rapid growth in the Digital Communication applications such as internet, fax, email, online shopping, and the Postal Service Act (2000), liberalization of market, drives Royal Mail to change its business plan and strategies to survive in the current dynamic completive postal market and in a broader way its future business is uncertain. This essay aims to depict the Royal Mail Human Resource Management (HRM) policies and strategies, and mainly focused for the period of 2005-2010. It also covers how Royal Mail is dealing with competition from the new entrants, and how it handled the recent credit crunch and its impact on the Royal Mail business. Introduction: In recent times, this group has been confronting with various problems. The group reported loses for several quarters. So, the government had asked the postal regulatory body Postal Service Commission (Postcomm1) to liberalize the postal market. Initially, in 2003 license were allotted to private company to handle the bulk mail. In 2006, the markets were fully liberalized and the group loses its monopoly2 status. All the licensed operators were able to deliver mails to both the residential and business customers. Postal Service in the UK: 1 An Independent regulatory body set p up in the year 2000, to regulate the postal service in UK 2 A dominant player in the postal service market with full control over the market. 3 http://www.royalmail.com. In spite of the advancement in the communication methods like internet, email and other electronic messaging options, people are trusting on postal service for sending parcel and letters and particularly in elderly, disabled, and the low income groups, and the small business sectors. Every week the group serves 20 million customers3 through its network of around 12000 post office branches and deliver some 400 million parcels a year through general logistics systems and parcel force . The universal service and the uniform pricing are the two important attributes of the Royal Mail postal service. Based on these attributes only the Universal Service4 Obligation (USO) was formed. As per the USO, the cost of delivering the letter is same irrespective of the location. To regulate the postal service in the UK, the Postal Service Act was put in place with the Postcomm. The main task of the Postcomm includes, 4Delivery every working day to every premises regardless of price and location , some exceptional conditions permitted by UK and Europe Union law. 5 Handling with customers complaints in the postal services and monitoring the standards and quality of the services provided by the Royal Mail. . Grant license to other companies. . Provisioning the uniform pricing and universal service. . Controlling Royal Mail pricing strategy and its quality of services. . Advising the government on the development in the post services. To watch dog the Royal Mail quality services, an independent organization Post Watch 5 was formed to monitor and control the quality standards. Royal Mail Group History: Royal Mail was established by Henry VIII, in 1516 under a Master of Post . Royal Mail was available to public in1635, with postage being paid by the recipient. In 1660, Charles II officially established the General Post Office (GPO). Telegraph services was introduced in 1840 by Royal Mail, and in 1912 the group started the telephone service. Post code was introduced in 1959. In 1969, the GPO became a public corporation from its existing government department. The post office made acquisition and partnership with German parcel, Katipos and TNT post group to enter into international market. In 2000, the company reported losses and it continued for several quarters. In 2001, the post office was renamed Consignia. In 2002, Consignia was renamed as Royal Mail group plc. The Royal Mail Group lost its monopoly status when the 2006 liberalization was introduced. In 2007, government proposed to privatize the group but the election, change in the government and the recent financial turmoil is the key factors for the postponement of the proposal without any further date. Literature Review: Over the years, it is apparent that organizations are considering Human Resource Management policies as the key factor to succeed in the business. HR department is acting as a strategic business partner within the organization to make the effective strategic business and human resource policies to achieve the organization goals and objectives, rather than managing the employees and payroll, as was conventionally the case. Senior HR practitioners and experts are more in demand in the today s corporate world. Through the years, there is lot of organizational level studies and research across the business sectors manifested measurable relationship between the effective HR practices (recruitment and selection, performance appraisal, rewards and recognitions, training and development) and business performance. According to Mark Huselid (Huselid, 1995) seminal study related the adoption of HR practices across 968 US companies with their financial performance (controlling for performance in previous years) . HRM authors such as Becker and Huselid (Becker and Huselid, 2006) emphasize the need for HR strategy to be clearly linked to the business strategy and for the constituent HR Practices to operate in a joined-up way, this being seen as key in order for the strategy to be focused on what matters, avoid duplication and optimize outcomes . Therefore HR function has vital role in understanding the stakeholder s business goals, transforming those into commercial business perspective and identifying the challenges and opportunities from the employee s perspective and address them in their final approach. Combs, et al. (2006) aggregated 92 large scale studies conducted at the organizational level to produce a robust analysis across a large sample. This research revealed that on an average, having a progressive HR system (e.g. objective selection, training, appraisals, employee surveys, etc.) related to an average of 4% higher revenue per employee where five or six major HR practices were in place within an organization . Business Model: Royal Mail Group operates through its subsidiaries Royal Mail, Post Office Limited, General Logistics Systems (GLS) and Parcel force worldwide. Royal Mail is responsible for collecting and delivering the mail in the UK and handles around 71 millions of letters and packages to 28 million addresses in every working day, in line with its unique Universal Service Obligation (USO). Producing and Designing the stamps and, philatelic products are also taken care by Royal Mail. The Post Limited: It has national net work across the UK. Larger post offices in urban area were directly managed by the Post office limited and other branches are managed by franchise partners. General Logistic Systems: Royal Mail acquired the General Logistic Systems in 1999 to enter into the European parcel market. GLS was market leader in the integration parcel distribution and express customer service in the European market. Parcelforce Worldwide: Parcelforce Worldwide is responsible for collecting and delivering the parcel and express packages throughout the world and in the UK for both the individual and business customers. Royal Mail Competition and Challenges: Royal mail is facing tough competition in postal market after the full liberalization act, and in particularly express package business. Its main competitors6 in the package delivery market are world net, Deutsche Post, TNT, UPS, and other airline which provide express package services. Most of its key competitors such as UPS, Deutsche Post, and TNT have large scale of operations, which could put Royal Mail at a competitive disadvantage . 6 http://www.datamonitor.com Though the letter market is declining due to the digital communication advancements, Royal Mail s profitability and efficiency is vital for the future of the UK postal sector and it also plays a major role in the UK economy and providing and safeguarding millions of jobs in the recent financial down turn, where as all other public and private sector firms are reducing its work force in large numbers.. But Royal Mail faces a lot of challenges. The group has been reporting looses for several quarters, and its pension deficit is widening; Modernization process is being very slow and also the tough competition from the new entrants in the domestic and European markets are constantly increasing. The culture change is one of the biggest challenges Royal Mail has been facing from quite some time. It required consistent high quality delivery from everyone in the company, value for money. According to, Adam Crozier7, Royal Mail must have the freedom and flexibility to set the right prices, based on real costs. If that happens, I think the new competitive environment will succeed. Competitors are already targeting profitable business mail. We need to compete with them on price as well as service if we are to keep the universal service8 in business . Improving the Customer Service: One of the main objectives for the Royal Mail was to reach everyone, everywhere, more than any other business in the UK through its mail, post office, and parcel and package business services . There were many complaints from customers about loss of letters but after working with Post Watch, the quality and service standards were improved when compared to the previous years. Price is the predominate factor in the competition. New entrants are providing higher value services with the modern technologies. Royal Mail has to offer high standard services to the customers. IT Initiatives: 7 The CEO Of Royal mail (2003-2010(June) ) 8 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4274335. To modernize its services and operations, Royal Mail streamlined its IT departments in collaboration with BT and Xansa. Royal Mail web based customers are growing vastly, so to improve the communication with online users. Royal Mail has also implemented the SAP 9Software to main its sales order and other process. As part its IT initiatives the group introduced the recruitment and employment process through online. Financial Crisis Impact on Royal Mail: 9 SAP Systems, Application and Products in data processing. ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software to automate the customer and payment details . 10 Royal Mail Holdings plc Annual Report and Financial Statements for the period 0f 2009-2010 Royal mail made good progress in (2008-2010), when compare on the previous year records. Due to the subprime mortgage crisis, all the major economies are suffering from the so- called credit crunch. Royal mail made profit, despite when the world economy in downturn and the mail market is declining in UK and in all part of the globe. Due to the weak global market conditions, the group revenue dipped to 9,349 million 10in first time in a decade, but all it is four business groups (mail, post office, GLS, parcel force worldwide) made in profits through their pricing strategy and good customer service. Royal Mail implemented modernization and efficiency measures to automate the mail processing and the agreement the made with Communication Workers Union (CWU) also made positive impact among its employees. Business unit performance External Revenue Operating profit/Loss* M M 2010 2009 2008 2010 2009 2008 Royal Mail Letters GLS Parcelforce Worldwide Post Office Limited Other businesses Group 6,564 6,707 6,830 121 58 (3) 1,487 1,495 1,232 112 124 114 399 399 379 17 12 8 838 908 911 72 41 (34) 61 51 36 82 86 77 9,349 9,560 9,179 404 321 162 Source: Royal mail financial repots Royal Mail HR Approach and Strategies: To modernize the organization and create world class HR function, McCarthy 11 was appointed as the director in 2003. According to him, there was lack in coherent HR strategy which was characterized by disparate spread of HR professional across the group . The group spent most of its cost on employment. Royal Mail reduced its HR employee strength from 3700 to 2400 and saved 57 million in two years span. There were only few HR specialists and experts in the entire organization. The HR functions were separated and payroll was the only centralization team. Profitability, Modernization, Efficiency and Employee Relationship are the key words for success of any public limited company. Developing the good HR frame work and strategy are vital for the public limited organization like Royal Mail to sustain in the today s globalized competitive postal market. Due to the advancement in the technologies, communication industry changed quickly. Internet, fax and other electronic options are dominating the traditional letters. Managing the huge work force and trade union royal are the challenging task for Royal Mail, in particular to the HR Managers. With strong HR strategic plans and polices, Royal Mail can handle their workforce effectively. Royal Mail HR Metrics: 11Royal Mail HR director(2005), http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2005/01/25 . People Strategies . Organizational Development . Shared Services The main goal of the HR team is to build strong HR strategies and polices to manage and retain the human resources. It includes Recruitment and Selection, Learning, Career development, Rewards and Recognition. Organizational Development and effectiveness are the main objectives to provide the zero tolerance work place and working closely with the business partners and HR directors. The training team conducts the leadership, personal and career development programs to improve the leadership qualities and other work related trainings. Royal Mail s people strategy key areas: . Creating meaningful, challenging jobs with flexible working structure; . Treating customers with value and respect; . Building the organization to improve and respond according to the changes in the market and environment; . Recruiting and developing the core potentialities to prosper in the open competitive market; . Recruiting and developing the leadership capabilities to deliver the goals and to retain the talent to contend successfully. Royal Mail HR Practices: Recruitment and Selection: Royal mail follows equal opportunity as an employer. Employment practices are based on regardless of age, sex, disability, race, color, religion, and sexual orientation. Royal Mail employs diverse mix of people who reflect the communities where we live and work. At Royal mail, selection and recruitment goes on for both the experienced professionals and fresh graduates. Different type of jobs are available; permanent, part-time, apprenticeship, and seasonal (Christmas) jobs. Training and Development: Royal Mail believes in training and development. So, the training team organizes various training programs for their employees which includes from starting induction training to the customized individual training suits12 through the on job training, mentoring, e- learning, and coaching. Major training programs provided by Royal Mail are 12 http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=24400706mediaId=24400710 . Information Technology . Health Safety . Communication Skills . Performance Management . Project Management . Leadership Skills The group also has self learning centers where employees can utilize different packages according to their needs, and Royal Mail is having partnership and link with different local institutes to improve the skills of their employees; with various external trainings. Compensation and Benefits: Royal Mail offers compensation package based on the employees skills and experience. To attract the skilled employees, Royal Mail offers good compensation package based on the type of the employment status like full time or part time, and Permanent or contract. Royal Mail offers the following benefits to all the employees based on their employment type.13 13 http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?catId=24500655mediaId=16000174 14 http://www.ocp.co.uk/_Attachments/Re http://www.ocp.co.uk/_Attachments/Resources . Health and Welfare . Holiday Entitlement . Basic pay/allowance . Pension . Time Out . Benefits /discounts/ ongoing discounts . Support for Disabled Applicants Performance Management: Performance Management is an effective method to analyze the employees potential and capabilities, if it is properly implemented. Measuring the performance of the employee is an indicator of the success of the organization. Royal mail introduces new performance management practices14. The objectives of the programs were to: 1.introduce a set of common validated numerical indicators which had been standardized for similar units/businesses. 2. Apply the Pareto principle and exception reporting. 3. Create a focus on looking forward, forecasting improvements (rather than a backward-looking blame culture) . Work life Balance (Flexible working): Royal Mail is offering the flexible working option. This includes where employees are allowed to work from home for their personal commitments, leaving early for the child care and compensating the time as per the business needs. It generally gives moral support to the employees and the best way to recruit and retain the talent resources which in turn improve the productivity. Corporate Social Responsibility: Royal Mail strongly believes in serving to society. Royal Mail and its employees play important role in serving to the community. Royal Mail s ambition is to become the leading organization in corporate responsibility is a priority of our Chief Executive and every one of our Managing Directors . Employees also fund to the good cause via their payroll regularly. Royal Mail also takes part in controlling the climate change using renewable source electricity to make the environment green. It raised 1.8 million15 via charitable donations in 2009. As a leader in corporate social responsibility initiatives, the group won the following awards in the last two years. BITC Example of Excellence (Healthy Workplace Award) 2009 Shortlisted for Personnel Today Awards2009 Award for Health at Work Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents Awards 2009 Gold Award, Safety Institute of Fundraising Awards 2008 Winner, Best Use of Payroll Giving Award Winner Quality in Print Media Environmental Award, Quality in Print Awards 2008 . Findings and Suggestions: 15 ww.royalmailgroup.com/portal/rmg/content1 . Prioritizing the HR strategy according to the key business goals and objectives. . Identifying the challenges and opportunities to moving ahead. . Develop and define the HR strategy backed by strong analysis with good HR metrics. . Reviewing the defined strategies and approaches with stake holders and business partners. . Finalize the HR polices and strategies. . Building the right-sized productive work force to achieve the business goals. . Automate and standardize the mail process with modern technologies and equipments to compete in the business market with skilled and efficiency workforce where the market and environment is changing rapidly. . Analyzing the data with help of employee and customer satisfaction survey, opinion pool and feedback data. Understanding the external market environment and competitor strategies is important while framing the HR policy. HR metrics will vary with each organization depending upon their vision and mission statements. Metrics should be cover the organization goals, rather than following the best industry practice. Stakeholders and business partners should be engaged while framing the strategy, to make the strategy effective. Conclusion: Due to the advancement in digital technologies and internet, the postal industry and market is changing quickly. Mailing market is declining and online shopping and other commercial activities through internet are growing speedily. So, Royal Mail has to modernize and restructure their business strategies to survive in the liberalized competitive market place. As many studies, research, and survives demonstrated the strong relationship between the good HR strategic policy and the business performance. So, Royal Mail has to develop the strong HR policies and strategies to streamline the HR practice to achieve the organizational objectives and goals. Implementing the effective HR strategies in public organization like Royal Mail is very challenging task for HR mangers and, where trade union and pension problems are widening year by year. The strong determination from the HR mangers, top management, regulatory bodies, and the government can help the Royal Mail to implement the HR and business strategies to shape the UK postal industry and economy and in particularly in the current economic crisis condition where unemployment is already in peak.

Could a Computer Feel Pain? :: Technology Feelings Papers

Could a Computer Feel Pain? I define pain as a continuously and purposely optimizing input to a feedback system. I proceed by clarifying and restricting the defining terms to the given context. I then prove the robustness of this definition by demonstrating its compatibility with a biologically-acceptable intuitive and philosophical viewpoint. I conclude that if a computational device were to be designed to meet the definition of the requirements for pain, the computer could be said, then, to feel pain. I further note this definition of pain does not completely integrate with higher-order life forms which are capable of beliefs and intentions which I label representations. I then conclude with a rough sketch of what the requirements would be to define a representational system for the purpose of understanding how a computer could have a mind akin to our own. Function A function maps a set of inputs to a single output. To see this, consider the definitions of "function" which follow. 5. Math. a. A variable so related to one another that for each value assumed by one there is a value determined for the other. b. A rule of correspondence between two sets such that there is a unique element in one set assigned to each element in the other. (Morris 1982:539) From the above, it becomes apparent that a function simply maps one set of points to another such as in the equation of line where we consider x to be the input and y to be the output: y is a function of x = f(x) = y = m*x + b. Note that we can remap the output to the input if we take x as a function of y = f(y) = x = ( y - b ) / m. If we examine definition b of "function", we note that, for each value in the input set x, there is one and only one corresponding value of the output y. Thus, the equation of a circle would not qualify as a function since for many values of x there are two values for y such as a point on the top of the circle and a point directly below on the bottom of the circle. A deterministic, or non-random, function will give the same output y every time a given input x is presented. That is, the input x completely "determines" the output y.

Effects of Parental Death

The Effects of Parental Death and its causes On Their Children’s Behaviors. By Tameka L. Flynt A paper presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements of CST 5006 – Survey of Research Methodology Capella University May 2010 Address: P. O. Box 1987 Griffin, GA 30223 Phone: 678-588-9932 Email: [email  protected] com Instructor: Trent Nguyen Abstract The purpose of this study is to review literature related to the effects of parental death on children. Children who experience the death of a parent is considered an at risk population for psychological, behavioral, and social problems.There are many factors relating to the way children adjust to parental death. Some of these factors include the age of the child, the gender of the child, the circumstances surrounding the death (accidental, expected, or violent death), the adjustment of the surviving caregiver, etc. Children who experience the accidental or violent death of a parent are more at risk to develop psycholog ical problems, such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, than those children who experience the expected death of a parent. Table of Contents Abstract2 Table of Contents3 Introduction4 The Statement of the Problem5Review of Literature5 Qualitative Research5 Quantitative Research9 Conclusion14 Annotated Bibliography15 Introduction Four percent of youth in the United States lose at least one parent by age fifteen (Samide & Stockton, 2002). The Death of a parent is a major and devastating event for a child. It can affect a child’s psychological and social development, which can lead to low academic performance and behavior problems. Everyday someone dies whether it’s from a sudden death such as a car accident, a natural disaster, and violence or an expected death such as long term illnesses.Many people that die have at least one child that live in the home under the age of eighteen. Understanding how the children are affected by parental death is importan t for developing effective prevention and interventions strategies that can be used by children counselors, social workers, and school counselors. Studies have been done to understand how these children are affected but there is room for further research. The Research questions that guided this research for the review of literature include: 1. Does the cause of death have a different effect on the way children grieve or adjust to life without their parent? . What are the most common problems children experiences after the death of a parent? 3. How are children affected by parental death? 4. What are the needs of children who experience parental death? The Statement of the Problem This research proposes to identify the different effects parental death has on children and the factors (cause of death, age of child, gender of child, gender of surviving parent, etc) that relates to the adjustment of the child to the death of a parent. Review of Literature Qualitative ResearchHope and Hat e (2006) performed a qualitative study to explore the factors that affect children’s adjustment to the death of a parent. The authors of this study reviewed literature and found that many factors contribute to the way children adjust to parental death. Previous research shows that children experience distress related to the loss of a parent. Factor that affect the way a child adjust includes the age of the child, the sex of the child, circumstances of death, relationship to the deceased parent, adjustment to the remaining caregiver, & participation in post death rituals such as funerals.Other studies have compared the adjustment of children who have lost a parent to suicide to those who have lost a parent to terminal illness. Hope and Hodge (2006) conducted this study to obtain insight from social workers who work with childhood grief. They interviewed five social workers asking questions related to the adjustment of children who lost a parent. They focused on the age of children, the sex of children, the circumstances of death (sudden or expected), and adjustment of the current caretaker. They focused on these factors because they found that these were the most common studied but the findings are the most contradictory.After interviewing the social workers Hope and Hodge (2006) found that they had observed similar patterns regarding the factors that affect the adjustment of children who lost a parent to death. Boys tend to show externalizing behaviors whereas girls tend to show internalizing behaviors due to the lost of a parent. They found that the cognitive level rather than the age of the child affects their adjustment more. Therefore younger children and preadolescents seem to have more difficulty adjusting to the death of a parent than adolescents.The results did not support earlier findings that sudden death present more difficulty adjusting than expected death. Most of the participants reported that sudden and expected death is equally traum atic to children. The participants also said that the adjustment of the caretaker is important for a positive adjustment for the children. The caretaker must be able to grieve while supporting the child’s need to grieve. This study shows that children of different ages and genders react different to the death of a parent. The authors of this study choose to perform a qualitative study because of the small number of participants.The sample was collected purposefully to focus on what social workers experienced when working with bereaved children. The methods used in this study limits generalizability. The participants all live in the same are of Virginia, therefore it is questionable if the results would be the same all over the country. It also focused on one culture so the results can be different with other cultures the authors also realized that the interviews may have been biased because of the answers that were given and the styles and opinions of the interviewer.Through this study social workers can gain a better understanding of how children adjust to the death of a parent so they can develop intervention strategies when working with these families. Children who witness the homicide of a parent are becoming more common in the United States today. There is very little research done that evaluates the children after such a traumatic event. Eth, Spencer, Pynoos, & Robert (1994) conducted a qualitative study where they performed a psychiatric evaluation of children who witness the homicide of a parent. They interviewed 55 children and adolescents between the ages of 3 to 17 in Los Angeles.They interviewed children from hours to weeks after the homicide to study the child’s immediate response. They also interviewed children who had witness the homicide years earlier to study the continued impact of the event. The purpose of this study is to contribute to our understanding of the nature of child’s experience of trauma, the influence of development phase on symptoms expression, and the interaction of grief and trauma (Eth, Spencer, Pynoos, & Robert, 1994). The results of the interviews indicate that children who witness the violent death of parent results in a variety of juvenile post-traumatic stress.The interviews also suggest that the developmental phase of the child influences the development of post-traumatic stress. These interviews suggest that witnessing a homicide impairs the child’s ability to grieve because they tend to focus on the mode of death which disrupts thoughts about the deceased. The sample in this study is small so it only represents a small population. The limitations also include the fact that the study was only performed in a specific community therefore it limits the generalizability of the study.The sample was selected purposefully because they chose to focus only on children who witness the homicide of a parent. Eppler (2008) performed a study to explore the themes of resilie ncy in children after the death of a parent. After the death of a parent many children experience difficulty grieving. They may experience feelings such as shock, guilt, and anger. They may lash out at their peers for a topic other than death. Eppler (2008) reviewed several literature related to bereaved children and their experiences. He found that children who experienced the lost of a parent display lower levels of self esteem and self efficacy.The purpose of this study was to explore qualities of resiliency in children. The research question that guided this study was â€Å"What resilience factors are identifiable in the stories of grieving children? † (Eppler, 2008). The sample included 12 bereaved children who loss a parent within the past 36 months. The children were between the ages of 9 and 12 years old. There were 7 female and 5 male participants. The sample was collected purposefully to broaden the understanding of children who experience grief. The participants we re individually interviewed after gaining the parent’s or guardian’s written consent.The children were asked questions related to life before the death, how they found out about the death, their current situations, and what they thought would happen in the future. They were asked to write their stories after answering the questions. The author analyzed the data by reading and rereading the transcripts, notes, and stories. He also increased validity by directly quoting the participants. Eppler (2008) found that sadness was the dominate theme reported when a parent dies. The children in this study also reported that they see themselves as happy, nice, helpful, normal, and fun.Most of the children reported that they had support from immediate family, extended family, school, and some peers. Children that reported a full range of emotions and a support system did not seem to focus on sadness, fear, anger, and isolation. Limitations of this study include that children from one developmental age group participated in the study. There should be studies done to examine resilient factors in adolescents and younger children. This study is also not generalizable to other ethnic groups because the majority of the sample was White. There was one participant who was African American.It is important that other studies be done to include other ethnic groups. Quantitative Research Children who experience the death of a parent may have problems adjusting to the new lifestyle. They tend to develop psychological and social problems. Children who experience the death of parent through accidental or sudden death may experience depression symptoms and post-traumatic stress disorder. A longitudinal study conducted by Brent, Melhem, Donohoe, Walker (2009) examined the effects of grief on children 21 months after parental death. A previous study was conducted by them nine months after the death of a parent.The questions that guided this study is 1) what are the predictors and pathways of depression and post traumatic stress disorder in parentally bereaved children and 2) does children of parents who died of suicide, accidents, or sudden natural death show a difference in the incidence and course of depression. Brent, Melhem, Donohoe, & Walker (2009) hypothesized that youth who lost a parent to death would continue to show a higher prevalence and symptom severity of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder than non bereaved children 21 months after the death of a parent.They also hypothesized that children who parents died by suicide would show higher prevalence of depression and that predictors would include stressful life events, negative coping, low social support, and prior history of depression. The sample consisted of 176 children of parents who died by suicide, accident, or sudden natural death and 168 children of parents who both are still alive. The participants were recruited through coroner’s reports and newspaper advertise ments. The participants were interviewed two times, once at nine months after the death and once at 21 months after the death.They were assessed on socioeconomic status and household income, psychiatric disorders, experiences surrounding the death, severity of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and suicidal ideation, and family cohesion, social support, coping, and self-esteem. The results supported the hypothesis that parentally bereave children would show a higher prevalence of depression and post traumatic stress disorder than non-bereaved children. Children whose parents died by suicide and accidents showed a higher rate of major depression than the comparison group (Brent, Melhem, Donohoe, Walker, 2009).They found that the incidence of PTSD was higher in the bereaved group than the comparison groups during the first nine months but not during the 21 month follow up. The rate of incident depression was higher in the children who lost a parent to suicide than in those who lost a parent to sudden natural death which supports the second hypothesis made by the authors. One limitation of the study is that the majority of the subjects is Caucasian and does not include homicides therefore it limits the generalizability.Although the participants were randomly selected the Hawthorne effect could have took place. Participants that knew they are a part of a study could have act differently. A study conducted by Raveis, Siegel, & Karus (1998) conducted a study to examine the potential predictors of children’s psychosocial adjustment to parental death. The predictors examined include the child’s age, child’s gender, deceased parent gender, time since death, length of illness, presence of siblings, and parental communication. The authors reviewed literature related to bereaved children.They found that younger children and those in early adolescence appear to have poor adjustment to parental death. They also found some controver sy regarding the child’s gender. Ravels, Siegal, & Karus, (1998) stated that some studies reported that girls are more vulnerable to poor adjustment following the death of a parent where other studies found that boys are more vulnerable to poor adjustment. One study found no difference in gender at all and another study found that the deceased parent gender may affect the way they adjust.The sample used in this study consisted of 83 families with school age children whose parent died of cancer. They conducted interviews with the surviving parent and the child. They also had the child of the deceased parent to complete the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI) and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Youths (STAIY) if they were 12 years or older or the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) if they were 11 years or younger. The results of this study suggested that the bereaved children whose surviving parent have an open level of communication have a lo wer level of distress.The gender of the child correlated with depression with girls reporting higher levels of symptom than boys. Anxiety correlated with the age of the child with older children reporting lower levels of anxiety than younger children. One limitation of this study is that it is solely relying on the answers provided by the surviving parent and the children which can become unreliable. Also the families participating in the study is predominantly White and middle or upper class. The socioeconomic factors may affect the children’s adjustment process differently.The last limitation is that the deceased parent died due to cancer. Other causes of death such as accidents, homicides, or other natural illness may yield different results. McClatchy, Vonk, & Palardy, (2009) conducted a study to evaluated the prevalence of childhood traumatic grief and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in children who have lost a parent to death. They compared the results of ch ildren who lost a parent to sudden/violent death to those who lost a parent to expected death.The questions that guided this research are 1) Do children who experience an expected death of a parent suffer from Childhood Traumatic Grief (CTG) to the same extent as those children who lose a parent to a sudden or violent death, 2) Do children who experience an expected death of a parent suffer from post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) symptoms to the same extent as those children who lose a parent to a sudden and/or violent death, and 3) To what extent do parentally bereaved children experience CTG and PTSD symptoms. The sample used in this study consisted of 158 parentally bereaved children ages 7-16.The children completed the University of California at Los Angeles Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index for DSM-IV to measure PTSD symptoms and the Extended Grief Inventory (EGI) to measure CTG symptoms. The results of this study showed that the incidence of PTSD and CTG was no t different in children who had experienced an expected loss of a parent compared to those who had experienced a violent or sudden death (McClatchy, Vonk, & Palardy, 2009). Children who experience both expected and unexpected losses showed signs of PTSD and CTG symptoms. African American children exhibit CTG symptoms at a higher degree than White children.This study suggested that elementary school children have higher CTG symptoms than older children. One limitation is that of generalizability because a purposive sample was used. The sample was recruited from bereavement camps therefore it is likely that those parents who were having more issues with their bereaved child were most likely to register their children up for bereavement camp. Another limitation includes the measurement tool. The EGI is a newly developed instrument and its psychometric properties have not been fully investigated (McClatchy, Vonk, & Palardy, 2009). ConclusionUnderstanding how children are affecte d by the death of a parent in essential to those professionals who work with children. Studies have shown that children are indeed affected by the loss of a parent whether it is a sudden death or expected death. Depression symptoms and post traumatic stress disorder symptoms are the most common problems that parentally bereaved children experience. They also experience behavioral problems such as aggression, acting out, lashing out at others, etc. These problems can result in academic problems in school. Parental death not only has immediate effects on children but long term effects as well.There are many factors that affect the way children adjust to parental death including age, gender, adjustment of surviving parent, circumstances of death, etc, professionals working with children needs to understand that all children react different to parental death so the needs of the children are different. Overall children need to be allowed to grieve in their own way, they need to be able t o communicate with the surviving parent about the death, and they need support from others beside family because family members are usually tending to their own grief.The needs of children who experience parental death are important for those professional to develop prevention and intervention strategies to eliminate the development of emotional and social problems. Therefore further researcher is important to develop a better understanding of parentally bereaved children. Annotated Bibliography Ayyash-Abdo, H. (2001). Childhood Bereavement: What School Psychologists Need to Know. School Psychology International , 27 (4), 417-433. This article is a review of literature on children's conception of death, factors influencing the conceptions of death, and reactions to the death of a parent.This article also provides intervention strategies including play therapy, bibliotherapy, and group therapy for school counselors to utilize when working with bereaved children. Brent, D. , Methem, N . , Donohoe, M. B. , ;amp; Walker, M. (2009). The Incidence and Course of Depression in Bereaved Youth 21 Months After the Loss of a Parent to Sucide, Accident, or Sudden Death. The American Journal of Psychiatry , 166 (7), 786-794. This study was performed to compare the incidence and course of depression between those children who lost a parent to suicide, accident, or sudden natural death.One hundred and twenty six children, ages 7-26, who experienced the death of a parent and 168 non-bereaved children were the participants in this study. Children who loss a parent to death were more vulnerable to depression and alcohol or substance abuse. Eppler, C. (2008). Exploring themes of Resiliency in Children Affte the Death of a Parent. Professional School Counseling , 11 (3), 189-196. This is a qualitative study to explore how quickly children recover after the death of a parent. Twelve children, who experienced the death of parent in the past 36 months was interviewed while the session s were recorded.They also were asked to write story about the death of their parent. Sadness was a theme that was reported by all the participants. They also had a range of emotions. Children who have helpful support systems does not focus on sadness or anger but see themselves as happy and normal. Eth, Spencer, Pynoos, ;amp; Robert. (1994). Children Who Witness the Homicide of a Parent. Psychiatry , 57 (4), 287. This article is a qualitative study that evaluated children who witness the homicide of a parent. Fifty-five children and adolescents were interviewed.This study showed that children who witness the death of a parent results in posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. It also showed that the developmental phase of the child effects the PTSD symptoms found in these children. Hope, R. M. , ;amp; Hodge, D. M. (2006). Factors Affecting Children's Adjustment to the Death of a Parent: The Social Work Professional's Viewpoint. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal , 23 (1), 107. This qualitative study was performed to explore the factors that affect children's adjustment to the death of a parent.The authors interviewed professional social workers with 11/2 to 22 years of experience working with bereaved children. Age, gender, circumstances of the death, and the adjustment of the caregiver are the factors that was explored. The social workers interviewed had similar observations regarding the factors that affect the adjustments of children who experience the loss of a parent. McClatchy, I. S. , Vonk, M. E. , & Palady, G. (2009). The Prevalence of Childhood Traumatic Grief- A Comparison of Violent/Sudden and Expeted Loss. Omega , 59 (4), 305-323.This study compared the prevalence of childhood traumatic grief and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms of those children who lost a parent to violent/sudden death and those children who expected the loss of a parent. There were 158 children that participated in the study. Sixty-three children lost a parent to expected death and 60 percent of the children lost a parent to a sudden or violent death. The incidence of CTG and PTSD did not differ in children who experienced sudden/violent loss of a parent from those who experienced an expected loss. Ravels, V. , Siegal, K. , & Karus, D. (1999).Children's Psychological Distress Following the Death of a Parent. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 28 (2), 165. This article focused on the families with children who had a parent die of cancer. The children psychological distress was examined in this article. The authors of this article focused on the attributes of the family environment and what role it plays in the distress of the child. Another factor is the circumstances surrounding the death of the parent. Eighty-three families participated in this study. The level of distress in the bereaved child was found to be affected by the way the child perceives the surviving parent.Saldinger, A. , Cain, A. , Kalter, N. , ;amp; Lohanes, K. (1999). Anticipating Parental Death in Families with Young Children. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry , 69 (1), 39-48. This article focused on the children who are losing a parent to illness and the association of mental health outcomes of these children. The sample included 41 families. The authors of the article interviewed the surviving parent and gave the children self repots to complete. Anticipating the death was associated with better mental outcomes that sudden death according to the authors.

Sociology Definitions

Culture: All that human beings learn to do, to use, to produce, to know, and to believe as they grow to maturity and live out their lives in the social groups to which they belong. Culture Shock: The reaction people may have when encountering cultural traditions different from their own. Culture Universal: Forms or patterns for resolving the common, basic, human problems that are found in all cultures. Culture universals include the division of labor, the incest taboo, marriage, the family, rites of passage, and ideology. Material Culture: All the things human beings make and use, from small handheld tools to skyscrapers. Non-Material Culture: The totality of knowledge, beliefs, values, and rules for appropriate behavior that specifies how people should interact and how people may solve their problems. Norms: Specific rules of behavior that are agreed upon and shared within a culture to prescribe limits of acceptable behavior. Mores: Strongly held norms that usually have a moral connotation and are based on the central values of the culture. Folkways: Norms that permit a rather wide degree of individual interpretation as long as certain limits are not overstepped. Folkways change with time and vary from culture to culture. Ideal Norms: Expectations of what people should do under perfect conditions. The norm that marriage will last â€Å"until death do us part† is an ideal norm in American society. Real Norms: Norms that allow for differences in individual behavior. Real norms specify how people actually behave, not how they should behave under ideal circumstances. Value: A culture’s general orientations toward life; its notion of what is good and bad, what is desirable and undesirable. Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis: A hypothesis that argues that the language a person uses determines his or her perception of reality. Cultural Lag: A situation that develops when new patterns of behavior conflict with traditional values. Cultural lag can occur when technological change (material change) is more rapid than are changes in norms and values (nonmaterial cultural). Subculture: The distinctive lifestyles, values, norms, and beliefs of certain segments of the population within a society. Types of subcultures are religious, age, regional, deviant, occupational. Rites of Passage: Standardized rituals that mark the transition from one stage of life to another. Ways that Culture is transmitted- Mechanism of Cultural Change-Diffusion: The movement of cultural traits from one culture to another. Reformulation: A trait is modified in some way so that it fits better in its new context. Innovation: Any practice or tool that becomes widely accepted in a society. Selectivity: A process that defines some aspects of the world as important and others as unimportant. Selectivity is reflected in the vocabulary and grammar of language. Taboo: A sacred prohibition against touching, mentioning, of looking at certain objects, acts, or people. Symbol: Objects that represents other things. Unlike signs, symbols need not share ant of the qualities of whatever they represent. Ethnocentrism: The tendency to judge other cultures in terms of one’s own customs and values. Cultural Relativism: The positions that social scientists doing cross-cultural research should view and analyze behaviors and customs within the cultural context in which they occur. Ideology: A set or interrelated religious or secular beliefs, values, and norms justifying the pursuit of a given set of goals through a given set of means.

Current and Noncurrent Assets Paper

Current and Noncurrent Assets Paper University of PhoenixOctober 12, 2009ACC/400IntroductionThe purpose of this paper is to conduct a comparison of current and noncurrent assets; in addition this paper will also explain order of liquidity and how the liquidity applies to the balance sheet.Current and Noncurrent AssetsAccording to Kimmel, Weygandt, Kieso, (2007), two types of are assets are present at all companies current assets and noncurrent assets. Current assets are assets that a company expects to convert into cash within a year or less. Current Assets on a balance sheet item equals the sum of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, marketable securities, prepaid expenses and Inventory all fall under the category of current assets since most or all companies expect to convert to cash within a year or less. Noncurrent assets are assets that a company does not expect to convert into cash within a year or less. Office Furniture, business equipment trademarks a copyrights fall under the noncurrent assets cate gory.Componenets of the asset side of the Federal Reser...The difference between current and noncurrent assets is the time that it takes for those assets can be converted into cash, if they can even be converted into cash. Current and Noncurrent assets are usually listed on a company's Balance Sheet. The Balance Sheet is one of the most important financial statements prepared by companies on a yearly. The Balance Sheet is an outline of the company's financial condition. The balance sheet shows in a nut shell a summary of company assets. Liabilities and shareholders' equity.Many companies delete current assets on balance sheets after a year from the data on the balance sheet. Kimmel, Weygandt, Kieso (2007) Accounts receivable are current assets because companies will acquire them and convert them to cash within a year or less. Supplies are a current asset because the company expects to use them for...

Free Essays on Euripides Use Of Dramatic Irony

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Pharmacy Technician Experience - Essay Example This experience proved that the field of Pharmacy is multifaceted that a mere experience would not suffice to satisfy the professional demand of pharmacy. I have decided to pursue a doctorate degree in Pharmacy to competently respond to the demands of the profession both in the practical as well as scientific aspect of the job. For the short term, I am interested to further my knowledge in the practical aspect of pharmacy by engaging in the retail and hospital environments with the long term objective of becoming a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry. Obtaining my Doctor of Pharmacy will not only provide me with the competence in the field of research but will also provide the rare privilege of being a trusted member in my profession as well as community. This knowledge, experience and trust however must be earned especially in the demanding field of pharmacy particularly if one is to pursue a doctorate

Altruism in Society Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Altruism in Society Campaign - Essay Example Man has become selfish along with the developments in the society. Putting first the interest of others above your own ("Altruism," para 1) is an ethical system August Compte, a French philosopher, had proposed ("What is Altruism," para 2). When the society acknowledges the importance of altruism, they will be motivated to develop cooperation rather than conflict. Harmony among nations will be attained and peace will be a reality ("What is Altruism," para 3) In a social campaign against homelessness, one can become an altruist who can be happy when we see others live in a place they can call their home. We are well aware that most of our homeless neighbors are those who were brought up in an environment where people are non-educated - who had given up on their dreams. Their achievement has been to create a boundary within themselves limiting their abilities and skills to achieve more than what they have. Most of the homeless people in the society have created a border between what they thought they can achieve and what they thought they cannot. They have neglected the value of faith and hard work as an instrument towards success. Adapting a homeless family in my own home would be an appropriate strategy for this campaign. This single family can set forth a change among other homeless families after allowing them to live in my house. By welcoming a homeless family in my home may create an impressi

Financial Accounting and reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Financial Accounting and reporting - Essay Example f financial accounting and reporting is the preparation of financial statements such as the income statement, cash flow statement, fixed assets movement schedule and the balance sheet (MAYNARD, 2013, 309). The financial statements are to be made available to all users of financial information who include creditors, regulators of business operations, investors as well as the government through its taxation unit. Other objectives of financial accounting and reporting include provision of information that can be used to establish the solvency position of a given business. The financial statements provide information relating to a firm’s ability to meet its short-term and long-term liabilities as they fall due. The information assists in ascertaining the financial position of a business in terms of its assets and liabilities which assist the business to clearly establish where they stand in reference to what they own and what they owe others. Another objective to be attained by financial accounting is the fact that it offers systematic recording of business transactions in an organized manner thus enhancing accountability and order in the business (SUTTON, 2004, 26). Providing relevant information to be used by several users of financial statements is one of the top objectives of financial accounting and reporting. It assists the stakeholders in making rational decisions. Some of the key users of financial statements are listed below. The investors require financial statements in order to evaluate the practicality of investing in a given business venture. Investors use the information specifically to determine and to predict the future of a company’s dividend growth through the use of income statements. They are able to further establish the various forms of risks associated with a given investment through a keen look into fluctuations in after tax profits, share price and dividend growth. The government requires financial statements from all companies and

Domestic violence and risk assessment frameworks (Bachelor social work Essay

Domestic violence and risk assessment frameworks (Bachelor social work Australia) - Essay Example An essential framework that can be used in domestic risk assessment is the Family and Domestic Violence Common Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework (Department of Child Protection, 2011). This is a standardized way of identifying, assessing, and responding to domestic violence in families. The framework sets a standard that assessors can employ in identifying a victim of domestic violence; frameworks have to avoid ignorance of any case that may turn fatal afterwards. The model has a common framework in risk assessment and management to ensure all the relevant information is captured, acted on, and avoiding decisions based on incomplete information (DCP, 2011). This is in line with risk framework approach standard guidelines that seek to establish principles, create policies, and assess the risk, deciding plans for the risk, and managing the risk (Titterton 2005). To use this framework with a client, it is important to determine the correlates of domestic violence as Rigg et al (2010) suggests. This would involve determining any prior relationship of aggression to understand the history of the violence in the family; the risk portrays a historical context and does not occur once (Rigg eta l. 2010). The next step would be identifying the demographic characteristics; these are critical in understanding and determining risk prevalence, understanding the psychological constructs of both the partners as men who commit such violence have shown differences in psychological constructs from those who do not. The next step would be to identify the psychopathy; most abuses portray more psychological problem than non-abusers (Riggs et al, 2010). The questions to ask in such a case will be directed at understanding the trends as indicated above. Stilth et al (2004) suggested the use of an assessment, which may help understand the individual’s

Altruism in Society Campaign Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Altruism in Society Campaign - Essay Example Man has become selfish along with the developments in the society. Putting first the interest of others above your own ("Altruism," para 1) is an ethical system August Compte, a French philosopher, had proposed ("What is Altruism," para 2). When the society acknowledges the importance of altruism, they will be motivated to develop cooperation rather than conflict. Harmony among nations will be attained and peace will be a reality ("What is Altruism," para 3) In a social campaign against homelessness, one can become an altruist who can be happy when we see others live in a place they can call their home. We are well aware that most of our homeless neighbors are those who were brought up in an environment where people are non-educated - who had given up on their dreams. Their achievement has been to create a boundary within themselves limiting their abilities and skills to achieve more than what they have. Most of the homeless people in the society have created a border between what they thought they can achieve and what they thought they cannot. They have neglected the value of faith and hard work as an instrument towards success. Adapting a homeless family in my own home would be an appropriate strategy for this campaign. This single family can set forth a change among other homeless families after allowing them to live in my house. By welcoming a homeless family in my home may create an impressi

Domestic violence and risk assessment frameworks (Bachelor social work Essay

Domestic violence and risk assessment frameworks (Bachelor social work Australia) - Essay Example An essential framework that can be used in domestic risk assessment is the Family and Domestic Violence Common Risk Assessment and Risk Management Framework (Department of Child Protection, 2011). This is a standardized way of identifying, assessing, and responding to domestic violence in families. The framework sets a standard that assessors can employ in identifying a victim of domestic violence; frameworks have to avoid ignorance of any case that may turn fatal afterwards. The model has a common framework in risk assessment and management to ensure all the relevant information is captured, acted on, and avoiding decisions based on incomplete information (DCP, 2011). This is in line with risk framework approach standard guidelines that seek to establish principles, create policies, and assess the risk, deciding plans for the risk, and managing the risk (Titterton 2005). To use this framework with a client, it is important to determine the correlates of domestic violence as Rigg et al (2010) suggests. This would involve determining any prior relationship of aggression to understand the history of the violence in the family; the risk portrays a historical context and does not occur once (Rigg eta l. 2010). The next step would be identifying the demographic characteristics; these are critical in understanding and determining risk prevalence, understanding the psychological constructs of both the partners as men who commit such violence have shown differences in psychological constructs from those who do not. The next step would be to identify the psychopathy; most abuses portray more psychological problem than non-abusers (Riggs et al, 2010). The questions to ask in such a case will be directed at understanding the trends as indicated above. Stilth et al (2004) suggested the use of an assessment, which may help understand the individual’s

The Devil In The White City Expository Essay Example for Free

The Devil In The White City Expository Essay In The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson, many inexperienced women come to Chicago in hopes of finding new opportunities and a successful job. These women were often single with no previous experience in the city, which made them an effortless target for Dr. Holme’s vile plans. With his charisma and reassuring presence, Dr. Holmes could instantly allure these women. Most women in this time period were often sheltered or brought up in a secure and familiar environment. However, in the beginning of the book on page 11, it states, â€Å"Never before in civilization have such numbers of young girls been suddenly released from the protection of home and permitted to walk unattended upon the city streets and to work under alien roofs.† I believe that because these young women had recently been liberated from their small town life, it created even more of an excitement and eagerness to take any employment opportunity that came their way. This in turn, worked against them, by prompting them to take the desirable jobs with Dr. Holmes. Another factor that induced these women to be so susceptible to Dr. Holmes’ corrupt plans was his undeniable charm. With their naà ¯ve mindset, a young man with striking eyes and a perfect physique (page. 35) was a handsome welcome to their new lives. This unexpected warmth in a new city enticed the young women and brought them to trust Dr. Holmes despite his underlying motives. However, because of their infatuation with him, the women were oblivious to his subtle maneuvers such as standing too close, staring to hard, and touching too long (page. 26) that would have revealed his ulterior intentions. This captivation gave Dr. Holmes the opportunity to have these women wrapped around his finger and be in complete control. Overall, the young women coming to Dr. Holmes were much too ignorant and enthusiastic to be alone in a large and unpredictable city, such as Chicago. Their curiosity and willingness to find a new life led them into very lamentable situations that cost them their lives. Unfortunately, I think that even if these women had been somewhat more apprehensive, Dr. Holmes, with his alluring charm, would still have the upper hand at reeling these women into his deplorable plot.

The Issue Of Eve Teasing Sociology Essay

The Issue Of Eve Teasing Sociology Essay Eve teasing is a very common social problem and everyday women come across some form of eve teasing. In this case, do you think that women should be empowered to fight back to end this evil act Explain and Illustrate Aai shundori, ekta gaan shuney jao na, said one of the boys. Ekdin toh amar shathey jetei hobey, said another. Terrified, fourteen year old Lima kept her head lowered and quickened her pace as she walked to school. That group of notorious boys heckling her again as they have been for the past few weeks. Three months ago one of the girls in her school committed suicide. When she heard the news, Lima couldnt figure out why another young girl like her would take her own life. That was until all this daily harassment started. She thought to herself, So this is what Shathi must have felt like, this humiliation, this embarrassment, this is why she killed herself . . . so this is the terrible Eve Teasing. Eve teasing is a euphemism used for public sexual harassment, street harassment or molestation of women by men. It is a growing social problem considered to be related to delinquency in youth. This is a form of sexual aggression that ranges in severity from sexually suggestive remarks, brushing in public places, catcalls, to outright groping. Sometimes it is referred to with a coy suggestion of innocent fun, making it appear harmless with no resulting liability on the part of the performer. Eve teasing, as heinous as it is, is thus also a difficult crime to prove. In my opinion, eve teasing is a very serious moral and social crime carried out by ruffians in the most degrading manner and it is not so much an act of masculinity but rather of low-life cowardice. The general socioeconomic status in Bangladesh is much lower compared to neighboring countries such as India and Sri Lanka. For the average girl in Bangladesh, one of her most prized possessions is her dignity. Following the culture and traditions also have the girls dress up in a conservative manner so as not to incite uncalled attention from the males. Historically, the upbringing of girls in Bangladesh differs in many ways from the boys. That is one of the reasons why the psychological impact and consequences of eve teasing are so devastating to the victim and her family. Eve teasing is now a social pandemic in Bangladesh. Based on empirical study (2008), the Hunger Project has identified some impacts of eve teasing in the society of rural Bangladesh. These are: a) Curtailed education: Sexual harassment increases girls drop-out rate from school. Parents concerned about their daughters honor or safety sometimes keep their daughters home and/or marry them off at an early age. b) Early marriage: Girls who are teased or harassed are also pushed into marriage, before they are physically or mentally prepared. This also leads to increase of maternal and infant deaths. c) Hindered development: Eve teasing contributes to maintaining the low status of women. It also hinders women in participating in the formal employment sector. As nearly half of the population of the country are women, for the economic development of the country their participation in employment is a must. d) Eve teasing leads to young womans suicide in Bangladesh. Some young women, unable to bear the repeated insults, have even gone so far as to commit suicide. According to the Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association (BNWLA), almost 90% of girls aged between 10 and 18 years are victims of public sexual harassment. According to the Ain-O-Shalish Kendra (ASK) human rights organization, atleast fourteen girls and women have taken their own lives between March and June 2010 across Bangladesh as a direct result of eve teasing. It has not only been suicides, but, even parents of the victims and protestors against eve teasers have been assaulted and killed by the perpetrators. From January to November 2010, twenty six females and one father of a bullied girl committed suicide, and ten men and two women were murdered after protesting against eve teasing / sexual harassment, according to a Bangladeshi rights group. The High Court on November 02nd 2010 expressed grave concern in stalking, tragic suicides of victims, and associated revenge killings. Since then, mobile courts in Bangladesh have been empowered to prosecute people accused of sexually harassing women or eve teasing. Anyone convicted of sexual harassment or stalking of women will face a year in jail or a fine of about BDT 5000 or both. The Ministry of Children and Women Affairs have linked up with mobile phone service providers in Bangladesh and taken the initiative to send mass text messages urging people to be more vocal against eve teasing. Undercover police have been stationed in playgrounds to prevent young males from molesting female pupils. UNICEF has also joined in the fight against the growing social peril of eve teasing in Bangladesh. UNICEF and its partners also are working to create awareness by establishing and supporting local adolescent groups called Kishori Clubs. The clubs allow girls and boys to learn to socialize in positive ways and they participate in activities that empower them to become agents of change. There are also laws that essentially make Eve teasing a punishable crime. For example: Section 10 of Women and Children Repression and Prevention Act provides for punishment of rigorous imprisonment up to 10 years and a fine if a person with a view to illegally satisfy his sexual lust by any of his organ touches genital organ or any part of the body of a woman or violates her modesty. Section 9A of the same Act states that if a woman commits suicide because of violation of her modesty by willing acts of any person without her consent or against her will, such person for the offence of instigating her to commit suicide will be punishable with rigorous punishment for a term not exceeding 10 years Section 354 of Bangladesh Penal Code provides for a punishment of up to two years and a fine for any person who assaults or uses criminal force to any woman intending to outrage her modesty or knowing it is likely that said act would. Alike Bangladesh, eve teasing has also been a nuisance in India. The Government of India took some admirable steps to deal with the problem. They took effective remedial measures both judicial and law enforcement wise. The police were asked to be on the alert to round up Eve teasers. The deployment of plain clothed female police officers for the purpose was particularly effective. In addition to this were Womens help-lines, Women police stations and also, special anti-eve teasing cells by the police were set up in various cities. In some cities where the problem was particularly serious like Tamil Nadu, eve teasing was made a non-bail able offence. I believe that if the Government of Bangladesh also applies such measures, eve teasing will be further controlled to some extent. While the above are some encouraging examples of initiatives undertaken to combat eve teasing, I think that another crucial element that would help this cause is women being empowered as means to fight back. The roles that men and women play in society are not biologically determined they are socially determined, changing and changeable. Although they may be justified as being required by culture or religion, these roles vary widely by locality and change over time. UNFPA has found that applying culturally sensitive approaches can be the key to advancing womens rights while respecting different forms of social organization. Womens empowerment is vital to sustainable development and the realization of human rights for all. Empowerment means giving legal and moral power to an individual in all spheres of life social, economic, political, psychological, religious and spiritual, which are essential for the survival and over all development of the mankind. Empowerment expresses the bold idea that all people have claims to social arrangement that protect them from the worst abuses and deprivations and secure the freedom for a life of dignity. The process of empowerment helps shift the priority to the most deprived and excluded, especially to deprivations because of discrimination. Womens empowerment could be considered as a process in which women gain greater share of control over resources, material, human and intellectual like knowledge, information, ideas and financial resources like money. Women should also be given control over decision making in the home, community and the society. They should be able to break free of the mould set by patriarchal norms. According to Labour Force Survey 2000 of the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the total estimated civilian labour forces of the country is 60.3 million and among them 37.81% are female.  These days women are increasingly entering into job market mainly in ready-made garments and allied sector, tea gardens, NGOs, health care services, food processing industry, export processing zones, services sectors and commercial enterprises and informal sector such as construction, agriculture etc. One of the major areas where women have found employment has been the garment sector. This industry employs around 10 million people directly or indirectly, of which ninety percent are women workers.   In Bangladesh, women are also involved with politics. The prime minister, foreign minister, home minister, agriculture minister, deputy leader of the House and the leader of the opposition are female. Yet, according to a survey, every five minutes a woman is sexually harassed. Every two minutes one woman is molested. Eve teasing is something that a woman has to contend with everyday. But, we can make it better for our women by resolving the following problems of the different Empowerment types: Social Empowerment: Social empowerment includes equality of treatment, equality of respect, equality of opportunity, equality of recognition and above all equality of status. The indicators of social empowerment of women include the base of gender inequality, sex ratios, life expectancy rates and fertility rates which shows the general status of women in terms of literacy, economic growth, availability of health care and birth control facilities, educational status of women, age at marriage, literacy rates and participation of women outside the home. Economic Empowerment: In nearly every country, women work longer hours than men, but are usually paid less and are more likely to live in poverty. Poor women do more unpaid work, work longer hours and may accept degrading working conditions during times of crisis, just to ensure that their families survive. In subsistence economies, women spend much of the day performing tasks to maintain the household, such as carrying water and collecting fuel wood. In many countries women are also responsible for agricultural production and selling. Often they take on paid work or entrepreneurial enterprises as well. Unpaid domestic work from food preparation to care giving directly affects the health and overall well being and quality of life of children and other household members. Yet womens voices and lived experiences whether as workers (paid and unpaid), citizens, or consumers are still largely missing from debates on finance and development. Educational Empowerment: Education is important for everyone, but it is especially significant for girls and women. This is true not only because education is an entry point to other opportunities, but also because the educational achievements of women can have ripple effects within the family and across generations. Investing in girls education is one of the most effective ways to reduce poverty. Girls who have been educated are likely to marry later and to have smaller and healthier families. Educated women can recognize the importance of health care and know how to seek it for themselves and their children. Education helps girls and women to know their rights and to gain confidence to claim them. Political Empowerment: Throughout much of the world, womens equality is undermined by historical imbalances in decision-making power and access to resources, rights, and entitlements for women. Either by law or by custom, women in many countries still lack rights to: Own land and to inherit property Obtain access to credit Attend and stay in school Earn income and move up in their work, free from job discrimination Moreover, women are still widely under-represented in decision-making at all levels, in the household and in the public sphere. Addressing these inequities through laws and public policy is a way of formalizing the goal of gender equality. Legal changes, which most countries have now implemented, are often a necessary step to institute gender equality. But addressing the gaps between what the law proscribes and what actually occurs often requires broad, integrated campaigns, which I believe each of us should take the initiative of. Jawaharlal Nehru had said, To awaken the people, it is the women who must be awakened. Once she is on the move, the family moves, the village moves, the nation moves. I do agree with that statement. We can help curb eve teasing by empowering our women. Instead of feeling abused by hooligans, misunderstood and shamed by their families, shunned by the society, our women will be better equipped to deal with the situation. Be it with pepper spray cans or other passive approaches, an educated and aware woman can, by herself, fight back the evil act of eve teasing.

Public Opinion and Television Essay -- Mass Media Danger Essays

Public Opinion and Television The paper explores how dangerous such an important mass media as TV can be, if too many power is concentrated in just a few hands, and how our perception of reality can be manipulated by the selection and manipulation of information presented on TV. Introduction The following term paper deals with the development of television from its early beginnings in the 1920s up to now. My attention focuses on the powers which influence what is shown on TV and the analysis of methods they use in order to manipulate the public opinion. Outlining the success story of this important means of mass media at the beginning of the first chapter, I will then explain the effects of globalisation on the TV market. Considering the example of commercialised American television, I will demonstrate in which ways the extreme competition between TV companies and their struggle for the top ratings has influenced the quality of TV programs. In the second chapter I will deal with "media control" and show how television can be abused by political powers in order to direct the public opinion. After describing the general effects of such influences I will finally return to the example of America and analyse the social and political effects of Rupert Murdoch ´s "media monopoly" in the Unites States. Finally I will explain the methods of mass manipulation employed by his Fox News Channel, which are outlined in Robert Greenwald ´s film OUTFOXED. Neil Postman ´s book "Amusing ourselves to death", Noam Chomsky ´s pamphlet "Media Control" as well as Klaus Plake ´s "Handbuch der Fernsehforschung" were important sources of ideas and quotations for my work. 1.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The development of television: During the nineteenth century the industrial revolution, the formation of new nations and the development of infrastructure and traffic had strong effects on society. Travelling became much easier and cheaper while the means of transportation became faster and faster. Even the media had to adapt to the growing spatial mobility of the people and so the challenge was to find a new mean of communication which was able to make information available wherever you are.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First scientific steps towards an electronic media were made at the end of the nineteenth century, when Guglielmo Marconi invented the transmitting antenna, which made primitive forms... ...r der Unterhaltungsindustrie. Fischer Verlag/Frankfurt/M. Internet Sources: Burnheim, Sally (2003/November 30): "Freedom of Expression: Case law under European convention on Human Rights". The Daily Star. Law & Rights section. [Online]. [2005, Jan. 24] http://www.thedailystar.net/law/200311/05/ Perger, Roman (2000/August 25): "Auf in den Bà ¼rgerkrieg". Die Zeit. Politics section. [Online]. [2005, Jan. 25] http//www.zeus.zeit.de/text/archiv/2000/38/200038_dreiweise.xml Sorkin, Andrew and Fabrikant, Geraldine (2005/January 10): "Murdoch to Buy Rest of Fox for $7 Billion" .New York Times. Bussiness section. [Online]. [2005, Jan. 18] http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA081FFF345D0C738DDDA80894DD404482&incamp=archive:search Worm, Alfred (2001/March 31): "Dritte Phase". Message Magazine. Austria Archive. [Online]. [2005, Jan. 25] http://www.message-online.de/arch3_01/31_worm.html Film: Greenwald, Robert (2004): Outfoxed. California Productions, Inc./USA Other sources: Skull, Steven (2003) (2003): Misperceptions, the Media and the Iraq War: An Independent   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Survey on Media Impartiality. PIPA/Knowledge Networks/Maryland